Kine’s Perspective
As Kine stared at the pale face in front of him, one thought rang in his mind.
I’m going to die tonight.
As his limp body was dragged to and fro, with his windpipe intermittently squeezed, he couldn't help but think about the myriad of bad decisions he’s made to come to this point.
Was it when I killed Neve? Or was it when I followed Ione to the clearing?
He could barely think straight. She had been dancing for over 2 hours and she wasn't letting up. Clearly, she favored psychological torture, and his mounting terror announced that it worked.
“When will you kill me?” He groaned. His voice came out in a whisper.
“When I feel like it,” Ione responded.
Fuuuuuck.
“But I think I'm getting bored now, so probably soon.” She smiled. “Happy?”
“No! I’m fucking not!” Spittle flew out of his mouth, “Just let me go! Let me go! I won’t do anything. I won’t say anything. I won’t even look in your direction.”
“What about Fellis’ direction?”
“Never! I swear!”
“Coranne’s?”
“I won’t!”
She peered at him, soulless gray eyes assessed if he was telling the truth. He was, he would swear on anything to survive and he would mean it.
“You know what the funny part is? I believe you.”
Kine perked up, “You do?”
“Mm Hm! I do. There’s just a small thing that’s stopping me from letting you go.”
She paused, as if waiting for him to ask. He didn't, he felt sick, almost knowing what she'd say.
She grinned, “Since you’re so clearly wondering what that is, I’ll tell you. I’ve got a quest.”
He closed his eyes.
“A pretty nice one, I’d say. Titled ‘Kill the Outlander.’ Wanna know the rewards?”
He shook his head.
Please no.
“Too bad! I get 2,000 EXP, 35 free attribute points and- oh! Something called a Mana Necklace.” She smirked.
He didn't really have anything to say. He had only completed one quest so far, the one involving Neve, and the rewards weren't that great. 300 EXP, 10 attribute points, and a sandwich that gave him a level to any general skill or resistance of his choice. Which he guessed was useful, if only a little bit.
He started to feel rage.
Why was she getting all the good stuff? All the good skills. All the good resistances. All the good quest rewards. In comparison, he didn't get shit!
“Why?” He rasped.
“Hm?”
“Why are your skills so good? Why are your quest rewards so much better than mine? Why do you get these things and I don't?”
Ione looked at him. His chest was heaving in anger; he desperately needed to know. He was dealt every bad card that he could have been and wanted to know why this monster was given everything that she could want.
“Well…” She started, and then paused.
“Well, what?”
“Well, I guess you'll never know!” She exclaimed happily.
He groaned loudly, “oh my god, just kill me already!”
“Alrighty then,” she said.
Her grip tightened until he could no longer breathe and he thought, this isn't so bad. He’d be able to drift off. His vision slowly dimmed and black crept into the edges of his vision. His lungs started to burn. He turned on [Pain Resistance] again.
It wasn't until he dropped his knife when Kine suddenly felt his body fly through the air and oxygen rush back into his lungs, coughing and hacking. He knew he was flying through the air and decided to attempt to slow his trajectory to be closest to the patrolling nuns.
Leaves and twigs slapped his body as gravity rushed him to the ground. He tried to use his legs to catch himself on a branch, however, unfortunately, he never saw the second branch until it was too late, he had threaded his leg between the two branches and started swinging sideways, aiming to slow his descent. Unfortunately that second branch was placed right at the left of the first one and once he started a rotation, he felt pressure from the outside of his lower knee and then an incredible crack. Suddenly, there was no feeling at all past his lower limb. He was stunned from the injury, remembering that he would need a healer for that, caused him to scream, yet, no sound came out. Ione continually choked him for the past two hours, and he only realized now that the torture robbed him of using his voice. The raspiness in his voice was too hushed to be heard over the buzzing night bugs. Horrified, he did the only thing he could: put his arms in front of his face and brace himself for impact.
Unfortunately, he landed on a rock and cracked his elbow. He tried to scream.
He couldn't.
Ione’s Perspective
She threw Kine and with [Predator Sense], jumped off and followed him down, her landing much more graceful than the twisted heap she found him in.
“How’re you feeling there, asshole?”
He attempted to crawl away, his right elbow was broken and his left knee was bent at an odd right angle. His shin was going sideways from the joint, about an inch of bone splintered through the skin.
Yeah, there’s no coming back from that.
She started walking toward him, passing the bloodstained rock, and watched as Kine clamored to his feet with an urgency she didn't expect, hobbling on one leg as he attempted to hop away, back to the orphanage.
He was surprisingly fast, she knew he was using [Pain Resistance], but at a brisk walk she caught up to him and grabbed him by the neck. Her left hand held the knife that he dropped.
She started jogging, and he quickly fell to the ground; his one leg wasn't fast enough to keep up with her pace. Ione knew he would have activated [Pain Resistance] once he was off the roof. He would keep it activated during the duration of their trek and she knew he had no choice too; she lugged him against the ground and it continuously jostled his broken leg. Her plan worked when she realized about nearly 10 minutes into the trot, his [Pain Resistance] wore off. The smell of piss emanated from the whimpering boy. She had a little under 3 minutes to do what she wanted to do and they made it to the clearing in record time. As if she were witness to a movie scene, the lake shone as the surface was blessed by the white light of the moon. The flowers were closed, and what was left were their multicolored leaves, a mixing of red stem to lush, dark green leaves, with light green tips. Fireflies intermittently glowed in the air and the cascading insect and bird notes added to the environment. She inhaled deeply, savoring the night air, then turned to Kine, seeing his nostrils flare in barely concealed pain as sweat dripped from his brow. She grabbed his hair to wrench his neck up, showing him the spectacular view.
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“You recognize this place, right?”
All he did was sniffle, loudly.
“That’s alright, I can do the talking for the both of us. I thought this would be poetic." Her left hand gestured with the knife. "This was where I got the quest after all. Right before you decided to bumrush me. Didn’t work out, huh?” She looked down and watched as he laid there, as still as a statue, the muscles in his neck strained from her adjusted hold.
She sighed, “I’m actually getting tired of hearing myself speak.”
She dragged his body to the small pond and dumped him at the mouth.
“Any last words?” She blew some hair out of her face.
“F-fuck y-you.” He managed to get out.
“Fair enough.”
Then she shoved his head into the water.
Kine’s Perspective
Once his head hit the water he knew he was done for. This was it, one of the worst ways to die. His eyes bulged out of head as he desperately tried to see in front of him, his vision filled with murky darkness.
Holy fuck, I am so goddamn screwed.
His panic grew.
He held his breath for as long as possible, but he couldn't hold out forever. His mouth had no choice, but to suck in the foul-tasting liquid and, as if someone shoved molasses down his throat, it clogged and his bruised windpipe struggled to accommodate the mud and sand that slid down into his lungs. The texture made him shudder in utter revulsion as Kine's screams gargled underwater as every last bit of alveoli in his lungs were starved of oxygen. His flailing limbs attempted to free himself and he heard violent splashing thunder in his ears under the violent taps of his heart. Which quickly grew in volume along with his already intense panic.
He would never gain the power he wanted and be able to utilize his full potential. The world would never know who he was. He would die a nobody, a random kid in a random orphanage on a random planet that just so happened to have someone else reincarnated with more abilities than him.
He desperately raged against that hand on his head, but it was unyielding. He saw the countdown of 1:53 in the corner of his panicked vision.
That was also the unfortunate moment when he felt slashes run across his back. The unclean water stung the fresh cuts, and he tried to reach around to inhibit her strikes, however, this resulted in getting his fingers sliced. He could feel himself bowing against the ground, his diaphragm involuntarily attempting to expel the filthy mud-water mixture, only to bring more in. In his last death throes, his lids settled at half-closed. His body gave half-hearted jerks as the blade dug into his skin, each slice was atonement for what he’d done to Neve.
He was sorry, he truly was!
Kine glanced at the countdown: 1:05
His last coherent thought was: she’s a monster.
Ione’s Perspective
Blegh. Soon, she received the confirmation she was looking for.
Congratulations! You have completed the quest: Kill the Outlander
You have received rewards. Check your inbox to review
INBOX
Blanket of Warmth and Vitality x 2
Mana Necklace
2,000 EXP
35 Attribute Points
Accept Rewards?
She quickly accepted the EXP and attribute points. Each going into their respective holdings until further use.
Ione stashed the knife in her belt and then pushed the corpse. She watched as it slowly drifted away on the glowing silver surface before sinking into its depths. It made for quite a sight. The warm water will cause his body to decompose faster and eventually the bugs and fishes will have their fill. Soon enough, his body will be a mess of bones, tattered flesh and tendon. She was quite confident that no one else has ventured to this part of the woods, seeing as it’s so fa-
Vomit spewed out of her mouth.
“Oh,” she vomited again, “fuck.” Her stomach curdled, and her knees hit the ground, body hunched over as it tried to violently expel the rest of the contents of her stomach.
It’s okay, I'm okay. I’m okay.
+30 Intelligence
Ione ignored the notification as she started shivering and eventually the dry heaves subsided.
She decided to use Tier 7 of [Pain Resistance], just to see what would happen. Almost immediately, her mental disquiet lessened, and she felt…normal. As if what had just happened was all a dream. The gravity of what Tier 7 meant was staggering and she turned it off. Almost immediately, she felt a cloud of anguish fall over her.
As if in a daze, Ione walked to her buried grouping of items, twigs cracked under the soles of her sandals and the moonlight filtered through the canopy of trees. She eventually made it to where the bloody pencil and pillow laid within the earth, patiently waiting for her. She mechanically dug away the dirt to add the knife and then walked back to the orphanage, wanting to do nothing more than go to bed, but she eventually found herself outside Coranne’s room. Somehow, Ione avoided all the patrolling nuns.
She knocked on the hardwood.
Coranne’s voice emanated from far within. “Who is it?”
“...It’s Ione,” she said, voice hollow.
“How do I know that it’s you?”
Ione’s lips turned up slightly.
Smart girl.
“You hate living here and wished Sister Hania fell down the stairs for stealing your berry muffin a few years ago.”
She heard bounding steps make their way to the door before the wood swung open and Ione was swiftly dragged inside.
“Shhhh! Ione you can’t say th-,” Coranne looked at her clothing, “What happened?” She breathed, crouching down and putting her hands on Ione’s shoulders. “Ione?”
Ione slowly shuffled forward until she rested her head on Coranne’s shoulder. Tears steadily leaked out of her eyes as she filled the older woman in on what happened. They soon found themselves sitting on the bed, Ione to Coranne’s right.
By the end of the explanation Coranne was rubbing Ione’s back as the young girl sniffled on her shoulder.
“Sorry,” Ione apologized, “I’m getting snot all over your shoulder.”
Coranne laughed, “It’s okay. That’s the least of your worries right now. But I do want to ask and forgive me if this is insensitive, but…why are you so upset over his death? From what you told me, he killed Neve, he tried to kill Fellis, he would have pinned the blame on you for both murders, and would have killed me next. It seems you did the right thing.”
Ione leaned back. “You think I did the right thing?”
“Of course.” Coranne nodded.
Ione looked down. A moment passed before she spoke again. “Well, I killed a kid. I’m not upset about killing him per se, but it’s the principle of it. I killed a kid. I think it weighs on someone when they take a life. In some way or another. But…” Ione drifted off, “…but, he looked like a kid.” She felt her eyes prickle and activated [Pain Resistance], the heartache went away. “When I think about when I killed him, he was a little kid struggling to breathe. I know he had an adult mind, and I know what I did was right, it’s just hard to reconcile the idea that I actively killed someone that has the body of a child. The face of one. With my own will.” She blinked, the tears that were gathering were long gone, and looked back to Coranne.
Coranne bobbed her head, “I think, in that case, you have to keep reminding yourself that you saved us.” She laid a hand on Ione’s shoulder, “You saved me. And you saved Fellis. Two lives for the price of one seems like a good deal to me, hm?”
That’s actually a little fucked up. But she’s right, in a way.
The nun was surprisingly accepting of Ione’s actions. Even Ione could criticize herself; She should have killed him faster, didn’t have to drag it out and psychologically torture him, she didn’t have to drown and stab him at the same time. Just a quick neck break could have done it. Why did she go so overboard?
The little voice in her mind whispered, because it made you feel powerful.
Ione cringed at herself, feeling regret and embarrassment.
Yeah, I’m not doing that again.
Why did Coranne not care? Was it because she trusted Ione? Or was it something else? Deep loyalty? She decided to ask.
“Why are you so accepting?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like, don’t you think I went overboard when I killed him?”
“I do and I don’t.”
“Huh?” Ione squinted at her, “but, why?”
“While I think you went overboard, I also think he deserved it. I may look like a nun, Ione, but I am so far removed from Gostra that I'm only a nun in looks. I’m not righteous. I’ve had very bad thoughts about some of the people in my life, as you know. Some of them deserve those thoughts, and some of them don’t. For the ones that should be put down, I can’t. I'm not geared towards fighting, I'm geared towards healing. Even though I’ve always wanted to fight. I’m getting past the point where I could change my class.” She sighed, “in a way, I'm living vicariously through you? You have skills that you've kept secret, which is fine. I don't need to know them, but it’s nice to know that you can take care of yourself when times get tough. To know that you could do something like that, and still feel human afterwards, shows a strength of character that I envy. Would I have found the strength to keep going? Probably not. It wasn't just self-defense, it was justice. It was righteous! You were righteous. Gostra would be proud.” She quickly mumbled, “not that I follow him. What I'm getting at is that you're strong, Ione, in both mind and spirit. And you seem to have great power. You’ll do great things, I know it.”
Ione was fairly certain that Coranne was telling her what she wanted to hear, to help make her feel better. It was working, but that didn't mean Ione wasn't aware of it. She found it absurd how Coranne could attribute her actions to Gostra, but if that helped the nun feel better about the little girl's actions then all the power to her.
“Thanks, Coranne. I think I disagree with a couple of things. What I did doesn't feel very righteous, but I appreciate the sentiment. Thanks for making me feel better,” she gave a small smile and then scrunched her nose, “but I think I'm going to go to the bathroom now, I reek and the smell of old blood is gross.”
“Oh! I didn’t even notice. Before I came here, my family slaughtered Baums, so I'm used to the smell. I'll fetch you a new set of clothes, and I'll take the old ones.”
What the fuck? New Coranne lore?
Ione gave Coranne a look. “How come you never told me that?”
“It never came up until now.”
“Huh.” Ione looked to the floor, then back to Coranne. “Well, I’m gonna go now. Thanks for the talk.”
“Of course! I’ll fetch you new clothes while you’re at it. I’ll leave them outside of the bathroom.”
“I really appreciate that.” She bumped her shoulder against Coranne's.
“That's what I'm here for!”
Ione slid off the bed, and then made her way to the door. A thought entered her mind. She stopped and turned around, hand on the doorknob.
“Coranne, do you think I'm a monster?”
“No, I don't. Now, stop asking silly questions and go get clean. You’ll feel better.”
Ione shot her a smile and then exited the room.
Well, guess that makes one of us.
Then she turned off [Pain Resistance].
Her mind was quiet.